Ad Performance Diagnosis: Root Cause Analysis Framework
Advertising & Paid MediaadvancedClaude 3.5 Sonnet or GPT-4o. Claude excels at structured analysis frameworks and systematic reasoning through complex data. GPT-4o offers faster processing for large datasets. Both handle multi-dimensional diagnostic logic well; choose Claude for deeper analytical rigor, GPT-4o for speed when iterating quickly.
When to Use This Prompt
Use this prompt when a paid campaign is underperforming against targets and you need systematic analysis to identify root causes before investing in fixes. Ideal for campaigns that have been running 2+ weeks with sufficient data, when CTR or conversion rates are below benchmarks, or when ROAS/CPA targets are consistently missed.
The Prompt
You are an expert performance marketing analyst specializing in diagnosing underperforming ad campaigns. I need you to conduct a comprehensive root cause analysis of a struggling campaign using the framework below.
## Campaign Data
Platform: [PLATFORM: Google Ads/Meta/LinkedIn/TikTok]
Campaign Name: [CAMPAIGN_NAME]
Date Range: [START_DATE] to [END_DATE]
Budget: [TOTAL_BUDGET]
Spend to Date: [CURRENT_SPEND]
## Performance Metrics
Impressions: [NUMBER]
Clicks: [NUMBER]
CTR: [PERCENTAGE]%
Conversions: [NUMBER]
Conversion Rate: [PERCENTAGE]%
CPA: [DOLLAR_AMOUNT]
ROAS: [NUMBER]x
Target CPA: [DOLLAR_AMOUNT]
Target ROAS: [NUMBER]x
## Campaign Details
Ad Format: [FORMAT: Text/Image/Video/Carousel]
Audience Type: [AUDIENCE_TYPE: Cold/Warm/Retargeting]
Bid Strategy: [STRATEGY: Manual CPC/Target CPA/Maximize Conversions]
Keywords/Interests: [LIST_3-5_MAIN_TARGETS]
Landing Page: [DESCRIPTION_OF_PAGE]
Offer/Message: [BRIEF_OFFER_DESCRIPTION]
## Analysis Framework
Conduct a systematic diagnosis across these dimensions:
1. **Traffic Quality Assessment**: Evaluate impression volume, click patterns, and audience relevance. Identify if the issue is reach, targeting precision, or ad appeal.
2. **Conversion Funnel Analysis**: Analyze CTR vs. conversion rate to pinpoint where users drop off. Determine if the problem is ad-to-landing page mismatch or post-click experience.
3. **Competitive & Market Context**: Consider seasonal factors, competitive intensity, and market saturation. Assess if underperformance is campaign-specific or market-wide.
4. **Creative & Messaging Evaluation**: Review ad copy, visuals, and value proposition. Identify messaging misalignment with audience intent.
5. **Technical & Setup Issues**: Check for tracking problems, bid strategy misconfigurations, or audience overlap issues.
## Deliverables
For each dimension, provide:
- **Diagnosis**: What's likely happening and why
- **Evidence**: Which metrics support this conclusion
- **Priority**: High/Medium/Low impact on overall performance
- **Recommended Action**: Specific, testable fix with expected impact
Rank the top 3 root causes by impact potential. For each, outline a 2-week test plan with success metrics. Conclude with a prioritized action roadmap.
Get the Full AI Marketing Learning Path
Courses, workshops, frameworks, daily intelligence, and 6 proprietary tools — built for marketing leaders adopting AI.
Trusted by 10,000+ Directors and CMOs.
Tips for Best Results
- 1.Provide actual numbers from your campaign dashboard—vague metrics produce generic analysis. Specific data enables precise diagnosis and actionable recommendations.
- 2.Include landing page URL or description so the AI can assess message-to-page alignment. This is the #1 missed diagnostic dimension in most analyses.
- 3.Specify your industry/vertical if possible (e-commerce, SaaS, B2B) so the AI can benchmark against realistic performance standards for your category.
- 4.Run this prompt weekly on underperforming campaigns to catch issues early. Use it as a diagnostic checkpoint before increasing budget or pausing campaigns.
Example Output
## Root Cause Analysis: Q4 Holiday Campaign
### Diagnosis Summary
Your campaign is generating adequate traffic (8,200 impressions, 3.2% CTR) but struggling to convert (0.8% conversion rate vs. 2.1% target). The primary issue is post-click experience misalignment, not audience targeting.
### Dimension Analysis
**1. Traffic Quality Assessment**
- **Diagnosis**: Impression volume and CTR are healthy, suggesting good ad relevance and audience targeting. However, click-to-conversion drop is severe.
- **Evidence**: 3.2% CTR is 15% above benchmark; 262 clicks generated only 2 conversions
- **Priority**: Medium—traffic quality isn't the core problem
- **Action**: Maintain current targeting; focus diagnostic effort downstream
**2. Conversion Funnel Analysis**
- **Diagnosis**: Significant drop-off between click and conversion indicates landing page friction or offer mismatch. Users are interested enough to click but not to convert.
- **Evidence**: Strong CTR (262 clicks) vs. weak conversion rate (2 conversions) = 99.2% abandonment
- **Priority**: High—this is the critical bottleneck
- **Action**: Audit landing page load speed, form fields, and offer clarity. Test simplified checkout flow.
**3. Competitive & Market Context**
- **Diagnosis**: Q4 holiday period shows 40% higher CPCs industry-wide. Your $2.15 CPA target may be unrealistic without conversion rate improvement.
- **Evidence**: Historical CPA for this period averages $3.20; your campaign tracking at $4.50
- **Priority**: Medium—contextual but not root cause
- **Action**: Adjust target CPA to $3.50 for this period; focus on conversion rate lift
**4. Creative & Messaging Evaluation**
- **Diagnosis**: Ad copy emphasizes "Free Shipping" but landing page leads with product features. Message-to-landing page disconnect likely causes hesitation.
- **Evidence**: Ad promises urgency/value; page requires scrolling to find offer details
- **Priority**: High—messaging misalignment drives abandonment
- **Action**: Redesign landing page hero to mirror ad promise; test variant with offer above fold
**5. Technical & Setup Issues**
- **Diagnosis**: Conversion tracking appears accurate (pixel firing correctly); no audience overlap detected. Setup is sound.
- **Evidence**: Conversion data matches backend records; no duplicate tracking
- **Priority**: Low—not a contributing factor
- **Action**: Continue monitoring; no changes needed
### Top 3 Root Causes (Ranked by Impact)
1. **Landing Page Friction** (High Impact): Post-click experience doesn't match ad promise. Users click expecting immediate offer visibility but encounter product-focused page.
- Expected Impact: 40-60% conversion rate improvement
- Test Duration: 2 weeks
- Success Metric: Achieve 1.5% conversion rate
2. **Offer Clarity Mismatch** (High Impact): Ad emphasizes free shipping; page buries offer. Cognitive dissonance causes abandonment.
- Expected Impact: 25-35% conversion rate improvement
- Test Duration: 2 weeks
- Success Metric: Reduce bounce rate from 68% to <55%
3. **Unrealistic CPA Target** (Medium Impact): $2.15 CPA target is 35% below market rate for Q4. Bid strategy may be suppressing impressions or limiting reach to only highest-intent users.
- Expected Impact: 20-30% volume increase; 10-15% CPA increase
- Test Duration: 1 week
- Success Metric: Increase daily conversions from 0.3 to 0.6
### 2-Week Action Roadmap
**Week 1 (Immediate)**
- Redesign landing page hero section to lead with "Free Shipping on Orders Over $50" (matching ad copy)
- Simplify checkout form: reduce from 8 fields to 4 required fields
- Add trust signals (reviews, security badges) above fold
- Launch A/B test: Current page vs. Redesigned page
- Adjust target CPA bid to $3.20 to increase volume
**Week 2 (Optimization)**
- Monitor conversion rate lift from landing page redesign
- Test ad copy variant emphasizing product benefit over shipping
- Analyze user session recordings to identify additional friction points
- Prepare secondary test: simplified one-page checkout vs. multi-step
**Success Metrics**
- Landing page conversion rate: 1.5%+ (from 0.8%)
- Overall campaign ROAS: 1.8x+ (from 1.2x)
- Cost per conversion: <$3.50
- Page bounce rate: <55%
Related Prompts
Related Reading
Get the Full AI Marketing Learning Path
Courses, workshops, frameworks, daily intelligence, and 6 proprietary tools — built for marketing leaders adopting AI.
Trusted by 10,000+ Directors and CMOs.